Spears found in Britain |
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More Found in Britain pages
The catalogue follows Thålin groups and then subdivided by Petersen's [PETERSEN 1919] types. Winged spearheads have been ground together in their own section and also include finds from outside of Britain. Each entry consists of the following components:
- Current location- The Musuem and catalogue number.
- Find Type- River find, grave find or stray. Also includes any proposed period dating.
- Find Date- The year that the find was discovered.
- Total length- The length, width, etc of the find
- Blade- The length, width, etc of the blade. Plus any published sugestions of typology.
- Socket- The length, width, etc of the blade plus decription of any decoration.
- Comments- Any other information or opinions.
- Bibliography- A list of published references.
Dimensions are given where known and can be stated in either imperial or metric measurements. Reference is sometimes made to Rygh types. Rygh’s [RYGH 1885] book illustrates examples of many pre-historic objects from Norway. These are designated as R.xxx where xxx is Rygh’s figure number.
Thålin Group 1
Leaf-shaped Spearheads (Pre 900AD)
Petersen Types A-E
Group 1 consists of Petersen types A, B, C, D1 and E. They are all types with a lancoid blade and gradual transition from socket to blade.
Petersen Type D1
Long socket with a long narrow leaf shaped blade. Similar to the type C but with a narrower blade and longer socket. Petersen discuss types D1 and D2 together and dates them to the C10th and in Norway they are found with Swords or types: S, Q, Special 20 and 1 with a type H. Also with Axe types: I-K and shields of R565. |
England, Yorkshire: River Ouse
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England, Nottinghamshire: Nottingham
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England, Cambridgeshire: River Ouse, Braham's Farm
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England, London: Wandsworth
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Petersen Type E
Short socket with a subtle transition into a long leaf shaped blade. Petersen describes the blades of this type as having 'an almost regular width' along its length and it being 'not especially pointed'. In Norway found with Swords or types: C, D, E and H. Axes of types: A, D and 1 of C. Shield boss type: R564 |
England, Hertfordshire: Nazeing
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England, London: River Thames
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Thålin Group 2
Angular Spearheads with Short Sockets (950-1075AD)
Petersen Types D2, G & H
Group 2 consists of Petersen types D:2, G and H. They are all types with edge shoulders placed low on the blade and a short conical socket with marked narrowing below the blade.
Fuglesang includes the winged spears of Petersens type D2 in with this group as she removed wings as a determinant of typology making Petersens D2 and G types the same.
It has also been suggested by Fuglesang and Petersen that type G spearheads without wings may be of eastern origin with the majority of finds coming from Sweden and Finland. A few decorated type G spears have been found with Urnes style decoration.
Petersen Type G
A short, thick socket that usually continues partly into the blade. The blade is quite flat. Petersen matches this type in Norway to Swords of types: R, S, Q, 2 of Y, 1 of X and 1 of AE. Axes of types: L, M. Dates to the second half of the C10th and into the C11th. |
England, Berkshire: River Lodden, Twyford
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England, London: River Thames, Hampton Court
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England, London: Walthamstow
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Petersen Type H
In most ways the same as type G except for the moulding at the base of the blade and the socket is slightly longer. |
England, Cambridgeshire: Soham
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England, Cambridgeshire: Ely
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England, Cambridgeshire: River Cam, Dimmock's Cote nr. Upware
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England, Lincolnshire: River Witham, Lincoln
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Petersen Type D2
Similar to type H but with wings (lugs). Petersen discuss types D1 and D2 together and dates them to the C10th and in Norway they are found with Swords or types: S, Q, Special 20 and 1 with a type H. Also with Axe types: I-K and shields of R565. |
England, London:
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England, ?
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England, ?
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England, York
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Thålin Group 3
Angular Spearheads with Long Sockets from Britain (840-1100AD)
Petersen types F, I, K & M
Group 3 consists of Petersen types F, I, K & M. They are all types with a narrow blade which is often shouldered and a socket that is long, narrow and conical.
Fuglesang has studied the K & M types of spearhead that are decorated in Ringerike designs. Due to difficulty in determining the exact typology of many of these spearheads she has introduced a new K/M type that falls between those of Petersens K and M [FUGLESANG 1980].
Petersen Type F
long and thin socket ornamented with encircling ridges and depressions. The blade is widest as it joins the socket. Found with sword types: M, L, K, H and I. Axes types: E, G and D. Type F spearheads generally have a length of 30-60cm with most being between 50-60cm. Petersen classes this a very numerous type in Norway and dates it from the middle C9th.[PETERSEN 1919]. Possibly a precursor to type I spears. |
Isle of Man, Ballateare (F)
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England, Cumberland: Hesket-in-Forest, near Carlisle
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England, Oxfordshire: River Thames
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Irish Type
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Isle of Man, Cronk Moar
Isle of Man, Ballateare (I)
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Petersen Type I
The socket commonly has 11 pairs of holes originally with bronze rivets. Some have up to 15 pairs of holes. Petersen classes these as not numerous in Norway [PETERSEN 1919]. |
England, Cumberland, Hesket-in-Forest, near Carlisle
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Petersen Type K
These spears have slender long sockets and have short transition between socket and blade. [PETERSEN 1919] |
Isle of Man, Ballateare (K)
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Isle of Man: Balladoyne
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Wales, Caerwent, Insula XII
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England, Yorkshire: York
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England, Yorkshire: Camphill near Bedale
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England, Norfolk: Burnham Thorpe
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England, Cambridgeshire: Ely
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England, Surry, Sunbury Weir
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England, Berkshire, Cookham
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England, Berkshire, Cookham
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England, London, Thames at Kingston
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England, London: Old London Bridge (K9)
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England, London: Old London Bridge (K10)
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England, London: Old London Bridge (K11)
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England, London: Old London Bridge (K12)
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England, London: Old London Bridge (K13)
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England, London, Old London Bridge (K14)
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England, London: Putney
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England, London, nr. Tate Gallery
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England, London, Thames River
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England, London: River Thames
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England, London:
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England, London: River Thames
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England, London, Thames at Ditton
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England, London
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England, London: River Thames at Battersea
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Petersen Type M
Similar to type K, but shorter, and they have the widest part of the blade further towards the tip than type K's. These date mostly to the C11th. [PETERSEN 1919] Fuglesang has redefined the difference between types K and M by measuring the distance from the mouth of the socket to the widest part of the blade (the shoulder). [FUGLESANG 1980]
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Scotland, Kiloran Bay, Colonsay
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England, Kidlington, River Cherwell
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England, Herefordshire, Lugg Mills
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Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
England, Cambridgeshire:
England, Cambridgeshire:
England, Essex, Nazeing
England, London:
England, London, Thames at Datchet
England, London, Thames Street
England, London
England, Berkshire, Pangbourne
Unclassified SpearheadsWales, Flintshire, Talacre
England, Kentmere
England, Kentmere
England, Estheaite
England, Lancaster
England, Nan Bield Pass
The following spearheads are referenced but have both no associated image and no type mentioned.
Winged
Unclassifiable SpearheadsThe following spearhead remains are either too fragmentary or have been lost so that a type cannot be ascertained.
Select Bibliography Bjorn, Anathon, and Shetelig, Haakon (1940) Viking Antiquities in England. Edited by Haakon Shetelig. (Available Online) Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland: Part 4 [BJORN & SHETELIG 1940] ^ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 *
Graham-Campbell, James, and Batey, Colleen E. (1998) Vikings in Scotland, an archaeological survey. Edinburgh University Press. [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL & BATEY 1998] *
Grieg, Sigurd (1940) Viking Antiquities in Scotland. Edited by Haakon Shetelig. (Available Online) Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland: Part 2 [GRIEG 1940] ^ 1 2 *
Wheeler, R.E.M. (1927) London and the Vikings. London Museum Catalogues: No 1 [WHEELER 1927] ^ 1 2 *
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